Top of the Key

Turned out to be a big workout day. I couldn’t decide if I should swim or bike first. In the past, I would always do the swims first thing in the morning. But trying a new approach, run before anything else. So I got out on the run by 6:30. It’s still dark out then. Ran with the GPS again, so I headed toward NCAR on Table Mesa. It’s a steady climb, and I can’t think of the last time I did this run. But the steady uphill action is really great to pace yourself and get the feeling of your form. The only drawback is the run downhill. I hate that.

A quick bite to eat and then off the pool. I had a big swim, and knowing that, I knew I wouldn’t be spot on. But it’s a swim, and I’m not going to gain minutes at this point. So, just headed into the swim with the intention of working on my form. I read a blog post first thing this morning which got me thinking about my goals. I really need to just swim and work on efficiency. Like I said, I’m not going to break any records in the pool..not even close. And then once I was at the pool, there was that swimmer, which I could totally tell was a triathlete (the standard jersey tan we all get), and he was really smooth, and long with his stroke. I looked at it under water, and it was effortless. So with that, I tried to swim long and strong. Big catch, and really try to glide. I was getting 18 strokes per 25, where I normally get 21. So something was good there. Then, the women I shared the lane with stopped me. She said that she is really intimidated by men swimmers, with their splashing and thrashing and sometimes ‘out of control’. But she said it was a real pleasure to swim with me…I wasn’t splashing, I was smooth, and she said my stroke looked really, really good. Sooooooooooooo what do i take from that? If you set an intention before a workout, and really focus on it even if you have to through the actual workout out the door, you’ll benefit more. At least that’s what I think…and believe.

Back home again, this time to eat more…but then Jess was heading to core power yoga for 11:30, Jo’s class. I usually go to her class in South Boulder. So i said why not…what’s another activity. And I needed the stretching too. One move which tore my hip flexor apart and showed how unflexible my quads are, was this bracing up against the wall. You put your back to the wall, bring your right leg back so it’s braced up against the wall by your foot, and then you are stretching your left leg out…pretty hard to explain, but man, I could not straighten up. My quads were super tight. Another thing to work on. Although I stretch, guess I’m not stretching the right muscles.

Now to work…it’s 2pm, start of my work day today!